Biden will only pull out of presidential race if ‘Lord Almighty’ intervenes

US President Joe Biden has said that if the “Lord Almighty” tells him to end his run for re-election this November then he will do so – otherwise he is continuing in the presidential contest.

His comments came during a rare primetime interview with ABC News on 5 July as the White House tries to calm concerns among the Democratic Party and to respond to widespread criticism of Biden following a disastrous televised debate with his opponent Donald Trump, during which the president at times struggled to speak coherently.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” he told interviewer George Stephanopoulos. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

Throughout the 22-minute interview, Stephanopoulos pressed the president on his capacity to serve another term, reports the BBC, asking Biden if he was in denial about his health and ability to win.

“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said, blaming his poor performance last week against Trump on exhaustion following travel and on a “bad cold”.

During the debate, there were multiple moments when the president stumbled over his words, appeared to become confused and lost the thread of his thoughts, and for the listener became all but incomprehensible – Donald Trump could be seen on camera with shifting countenances of perplexity and bafflement in reaction to what Biden had just said – fuelling ongoing concerns about his age and cognitive ability.

Biden is only the second Catholic to serve as President of the United States – after John F Kennedy – and has often spoken out about himself as a Catholic and the importance of his faith.

This has drawn criticism from both Catholic bishops and lay Catholics in the US due to the president’s unwavering support of abortion, as well as his supportive stance on issues such as trans rights and gender identity that go against traditional Church teaching.

RELATED: Biden in worse trouble than Trump with Catholic voters – especially if they go to Mass

In another interview conducted the night before the ABC one, with Philadelphia’s WURD radio station on 4 July, the president at one point said he was proud to be the “first black woman” to serve in the White House, evidently mixing up himself with a reference to Kamala Harris, his vice-president and the first woman of colour to serve in that role, reports the Guardian.  

Biden’s public approval ratings are reportedly at their lowest level during his presidency. While the age of 78-year-old Donald Trump has been raised as a similar concern – among many other criticisms of the polarising ex-president – in comparison to Biden, Trump has generally appeared energetic and relatively on the ball.

Since the televised debate, there have been increasing questions raised about the roll of Biden’s wife, Jill, and what she and his closest advisors are telling the president to do in relation to what is best for him and for the country.

Questions are also being raised about who is actually in charge of what policies the White House puts through, the Daily Telegraph notes, with speculation that his close team, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, is handling much of it.

As a result of all this, while Kamala Harris has endured low approval ratings during her time as vice-president, recent polls indicate trust in her has improved recently. This has lead to speculation that Biden could stand down and hand the Democratic nomination for president to her.

Harris had gained a reputation for being ardently progressive, especially on abortion and reproductive rights.

RELATED: Could the abortion issue decide US election?

Photo: George Stephanopoulos interviews President Joe Biden; screenshot from abcnews.go.com.

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